Pressed flowers and leaves are something I just can’t seem to get enough of. It’s gotten to the point where, at any given point, I have a bunch hidden between the pages of various books in my home just waiting for a time I’ll want to use them. This DIY is my favorite way to use pressed flowers yet.
I love the idea of adding a small group of gorgeous pressed flowers and leaves to an already beautiful printed iPhone case — like one of these — or taking an otherwise plain case and totally covering it from top to bottom.
I like to use the standard method of pressing flowers, by pressing them between two pages of a thick book and waiting about a week for them to dry.
Materials:
Hard plastic phone case (see our selection of cases)
Pressed flowers and leaves
Craft glue
Clear casting epoxy resin (found at most craft stores in the adhesives aisle)
2 plastic cups
4 wooden stirrers
Wax paper
Acetone nail polish remover
Cotton swab
Directions:
1. First, play around with different flower and leaf arrangements on the back of the case. I didn’t want to fully cover up the beautiful pattern on the back of my case, so I just used a few strategically-placed flowers and leaves to add some dimension and color.
2. When you’ve found an arrangement you like, secure each element in place using craft glue.
3. In a well-ventilated space, mix your resin according to the instructions on the box. Be sure to read the instructions very carefully, and follow the measurements precisely. This particular resin requires the bottles to first be slightly warmed by running them under water, and then mixed in two steps, using two separate cups and two wooden stirrers.
4. Place your phone case onto a piece of wax paper if you’d like — this is where any spare drips of resin will land.
5. When your resin is fully mixed, pour a bit onto the back of your phone case. Use a wooden stick to spread it out evenly, making sure to cover the entire back portion. Add more resin, bit by bit, until the flowers and leaves are fully covered.
5. If you happen to get some resin on the sides or another unwanted spot, dip a cotton swab in acetone nail polish remover, and rub until the resin comes off.
6. Your job is done. You may sit and wait! Actually, it may serve you better to go about your life for a while and check back in every now and then to see how the hardening of your resin is coming along!
Depending on the phone case material, resin thickness and room temperature, it may take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for the resin to fully dry. Once your resin has dried, you may find that some pieces of flowers and leaves haven’t been fully covered by resin. If this is the case, you may add a second coat of resin at this time.
Voila! What a gorgeous way to preserve and display flowers for spring.
Some other ways we’ve used pressed flowers: lollipops, recycled paper, wedding decor, necklace & jewelry box, and Easter eggs!
More DIY ideas from the BLDG 25 Blog.
Follow FP Brigette on Twitter.
this is so perfect, I have a bunch of pressed leaves and flowers waiting for me and I needed a new phone case!
Oh this is lovely! Just a nice project for spring!
Hopefully mine won’t look like it fell over the grass.
Super cute project! Makes for a great gift too
http://lifeandcity.tumblr.com
This is very interesting idea! Didn’t know that could use pressed flowers to create such a nice phone case :)
Hi. Great post! Who knew using flowers could make an iphone case so beautiful. Seriously, Before reading this post I never thought to create my own designs. If I see another zebra-print case in a trendy store, I think i’m going to stop liking zebras. Lol. But really, this can be expanded to other designs for sure. Think I’ll try a money print montage theme, or I might create one using my favorite sports teams (not the standard team logo), or even personalized comics featuring me, my wife and my son :) Thanks!
Love it! I always look to this blog for crafty inspiration. I’m wanting to make a kite this spring and I’m wondering if you have any ideas on how to go about it..
Thanks
This was a very innovative design. I have seen so many of these DIY projects but your use of natural plants matched with your artistic style have truly made this tutorial unique. Thanks for the great tutorial and please feel free to check out our blank cases for your next project. Thanks again for the post.
I have done picture covers with resin but never thought of using pressed flowers! Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
This is so lovely and creative. Wowwwww.
Julia
So lovely design… But I’m not sure it will be good for daily use.